Resistance: Fall of Man (Playstation 3, 2006)

"It's like playing every FPS ever."
Okay. If you're like me, and ignore all the hype surrounding this game, you were still probably expecting at least a solid game, it being the crown jewel of the PS3's launch titles. However, I was letdown.

Gameplay:

Of course, the most important aspect. The gameplay washed over me like a lukewarm wave. I was hoping the lack of rumble wouldn't affect the game very much, but without there was just something missing. The weapons lacked sparkle without a buzz in your palms. To tell the truth, they lacked more than that. Sure, the weapons are unique, but you never feel like anyone is more useful than any other for any given situation. In fact the weapons are a little to unique, to the point where the effectiveness of them is hampered by the manner you have to use them.

The controls were pretty smooth, if not counter intuitive. I can understand WHY they wouldn't want to mimic the Halo control scheme, but I can't believe they didn't have the goombahs to suck up their pride and use a very effective control system. 'Oh look, the L2 and R2 buttons are more trigger like!...but hey, let's use the R2 for weapon selection!' My only real complaint is the zoom. It feels so clunky, all of a sudden your gun is in the middle of the screen and you've zoomed in. No transition, and no telling how your gun got there out of nowhere.

Overall the gameplay felt like a frenzied Call of Duty with Serious Sam overtones. The enemies aren't particularly smart, but there are just so damn many of them and they're so powerful that tactics become moot on their end.

Visuals and Sound:

Yes, I'm combining the two, because the two are so closely linked. I kept seeing grenades go off and shots hitting me and expecting a fitting audio accompaniment. That said, the audio was nice, just badly implemented. The graphics however, were very unimpressive, not just because you'd expect them to be more polished, but because the visual design is so damn generic. Oh look a war torn town. And an enemy stronghold, which should have obviously superior technology...with thin metal rails for pathways! Identical enemies that seem to be using the same animation at the same time!

Summary: I find the lack of originality perturbing, and the audio and visual half assed. Actually, I find the whole game half assed. It just doesn't have any appeal, no reason to keep this game in mind longer than the time it takes to trudge through the campaign. Remember Pariah, Project Snowblind, and every Unreal game since the first couple? No, and you'll soon forget Resistance.

Not worth playing, and certainly not worth getting a PS3 for.

3/10